Overall
- Language
- Korean
- Conflict of Interest
- In relation to this article, we declare that there is no conflict of interest.
- Publication history
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Received May 21, 2025
Revised January 29, 2026
Accepted February 7, 2026
Available online June 26, 2026
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This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/3.0) which permits
unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Most Cited
Separation of 3-hydroxybutyrate and Crotonic Acid Obtained from Alkaline Hydrolyzed Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate Using Salting-out Assisted Liquid-Liquid Extraction
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-026-00676-5
Abstract
This study aims to develop an efficient method for the selective separation of 3-hydroxybutyrate and crotonic acid obtained
from the alkaline degradation of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate. To achieve this objective, salting-out assisted liquid-liquid
extraction (SALLE) was applied and optimized using response surface methodology. The principle of salting-out behavior
allowed selective and effective separation of the desired substances from the hydrolyzed mixtures under elevated salt
conditions in liquid-liquid extraction. The optimized conditions were pH 4.5, 29.2 wt% of ammonium sulfate, and ethyl
acetate-to-water ratio of 1:2.95 (v/v), which increased the purity of 3-hydroxybutyrate from 66.3% to 99.9% through serial
SALLE steps with overall recovery yield exceeding 99.9% quantified by HPLC. This low-energy, catalyst-free process
enables the sustainable up-cycling of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate to reusable monomers, with potential applications in pharmaceuticals
and broad applicability in the recycling of biodegradable polymers.
